I plopped down next to Jackie on the couch and reached inside the bowl of popcorn. "It was fine. Jan had her moments. It will take some time getting used to, but I will manage."

Jace smiled and then jumped on top of Jackie’s lap reaching his hand into the bowl of popcorn. "Don't you have places to be, or jobs to apply to?" He teased.

Jackie pushed Jace out of her lap and playfully slapped his arm. "Nope! I can sit here all day. I haven't had any call backs yet."

I sat back and watched as Jace and Jackie teased each other. I couldn't help but to laugh when Jackie slapped him in the back of the head. The look on Jace's face was priceless.

"Ouch. Is that how you treat your little brother?" He jumped to his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "Did-"

"I have something to tell you," I cut in.

The room grew silent.

"Should I sit down for this?" Jace teased.

I reached over and slapped him on the arm. "No." I laughed.

"Ouch. The abuse of you ladies." He chuckled, while grabbing both his arm and his head. "Maybe I will just sit down. Over here." He pointed to the end of the couch.

Jackie narrowed her eyes at Jace and then set the bowl of popcorn down. "What is it?" she questioned.

I wasn't really sure how Jackie and Jace would react to me seeing Caleb today and it made me really nervous. I ran my sweaty palms over the side of my favorite shirt and exhaled. "Caleb came to see me today."

Jace's body stiffened as he sat up and gave me his full attention. His jaw tightly clenched as he ran a hand through his hair and frowned. "What happened, Avery?" Jace jumped up from the couch and grabbed my arms. "Are you okay?"

I smiled as Jace gripped the back of my neck and looked me in the eye. He was always so quick to comfort me and it gave me a feeling of security. I loved him for it. "I'm fine."

Jace loosened his grip on me and let his breath out. "What did he want?" he questioned.

"He just came in to apologize. It was really weird," I breathed. "But things are good now. I guess in some way I kind of needed the closure. You know?"

Jace nodded his head, but didn't speak. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he felt a sense of relief as well. "Yeah. I know." He leaned in and softly kissed my nose. "I understand."

"I'll be right back guys."

Jace and I both looked over at Jackie as she jumped up from the couch and ran toward the door.

"Jackie. What's going on?" Jace yelled after her.

"Nothing! It's fine. I just have a call." Jackie's voice shook as she answered back. "I'll be right back."

I pushed my way out of Jace's arms and followed Jackie to the door. I knew what she was doing. "Jackie! Don't do this," I pleaded. "He is no good."

Jackie gave me a blank look and then stared down at her phone. "I dont know what you're talking about," she mumbled. "It's just a- it’s a friend."

I gripped Jackie's shoulder just as she reached for the door handle. I knew that she was lying and I wasn't about to let her go back to Joe and hurt Jace. "Jackie, I know how hard it is to leave your past behind. Trust me. I beat myself up every day for letting myself drown in my misery. You have to keep him out of your life. If anything... do it for Jace."

Jackie's whole body shook as she looked back down at her phone as it vibrated in her hand. "He won't stop! He won't ever stop," she cried.

I slowly reached down and grabbed the phone from out of Jackie's firm grip. "I'm here for you. You will be fine." I threw my arms around her as she rested her head against my shoulder. "I promise. Jace promises. You have us both now."

Jackie's grip tightened around me as her body began to shake. "I can't do this. I just can't do this," she whined. "It hurts so damn much."

"Yes you can." I shoved the phone in my pocket and looked her in the eye. "We both can do it. Together."

Her eyes wandered down to my pocket before looking up to land on Jace.

Jace stood there in the kitchen with his eyes glued on the both of us. Then he walked over and placed a hand on Jackie's shoulder. "I love you, Jackie. You know that. I always have and always will."

A smile crept over Jackie's face before she broke into a laughter that was soon followed by tears. She stared up at Jace before jumping up and throwing her arms around Jace, body shaking, as she fell into him. "I love you too... punk." She smiled weakly. "I love you so much. You're all that I have left."

Jace softly rubbed the back of her head and peered over Jackie's shoulder to look at me. He smiled and gave me a loving look. "We'll change that soon. I promise."

Jackie looked over at me and gave me a look of confidence. "I'm trusting you to take care of me." She grinned, hopeful. "Don't be surprised if you see me here every day." She stepped toward me and reached her hand out. "Let me see that phone."

I hesitated for a moment before reaching in my pocket and gripping the phone in my hand. "Jackie-"

"It's fine, Avery." She paused to look at Jace. "I'm fine."

Jace gave me a nod as I softly placed the phone inside of Jackie's open palm. "Let's go grab some dinner." He said calmly, trying to change the subject. "Jackie’s buying."

Jackie reached over, slapping Jace in the head, as Lucky jumped in the middle of them yelping.

I leaned against the counter and closed my eyes.      

Looking over at Jace, Jackie and Lucky, told me everything that I needed to know. Everything that I had been hoping for my entire life.

I am okay now.

Chapter 20

Six years later....

The warm wind playfully blew through my freshly curled hair as I happily stared into the clear afternoon sky.

The sun lightly kissed my already pink nose, causing me to laugh at the thought of how severely my nose had gotten sunburned last summer. It was so bad that, the skin had shed for three weeks, even though everyone had warned me ahead of time to wear sunscreen. I was just too stubborn to listen, and so for that, I paid the price and everyone made fun of me for weeks. I looked absolutely horrible.

"Mommy."

I laughed to myself and shook my head. Silly me...